Some of my rabbinical colleagues, especially on the East Coast, report a disturbing development in their congregations. The following is a typical scenario. Josh and Fran Cohen are the parents of three children: Bradley, the oldest; Susie, the middle; and Michael, the youngest. They remain unaffiliated until Bradley is about to enter the third grade.

They join the congregation so that he can spend the minimal number of years in the Hebrew program in order to become Bar Mitzvah. Susie also doesn't enroll in Religious School until she is ready for the third grade. Bradley and Susie drop out of Religious School immediately after their Bar and Bat Mitzvah.

The Cohens keep their membership in the Temple until Michael, their youngest, becomes a Bar Mitzvah. The following Monday, they submit their letter of resignation. They explain that they no longer have any need for the congregation.

Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, focused on this distressing problem in his presidential address at its Biennial convention in Houston last November. Rabbi Yoffie observed that nearly 80% of Jews in the United States and Canada will join a congregation at some point in their lives.

However, about half of them will leave, usually in three to five years after a child's Bar or Bat Mitzvah. To stem this tide, Rabbi Yoffie asks Reform congregations to promote a culture of life-long Temple membership.

Thank God, we have had such a culture of life-long Temple membership here for decades. We at Temple Beth-El do not reflect this negative national trend. Life-long Temple membership is a central part of our congregation's way of life. It is in our collective DNA.

Our congregation was founded in 1874, over 130 years ago. We rejoice that a goodly number of the descendants of our founding mothers and fathers continue to belong to Temple Beth-El. We are proud that we now can claim a significant number of fifth-generation members on our congregational roster.

We inculcate this ideal of continuity of membership even in our Religious School children and their parents. For example, we require all our Bar and Bar Mitzvah celebrants to remain in Religious School through Confirmation. Our retention rate is almost 100%.

We reinforce that expectation several times prior to a child's Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Indeed, the great majority of our members who remain in San Antonio do continue their Temple memberships until the end of their lives.

Tonight we are delighted to honor those of you who have been Temple members for fifty years or more. We value your commitment and your steadfastness. Your maintaining your membership and supporting our congregation for at least a half a century is incredibly praiseworthy. It is also counter-cultural. It goes against the current norms of our society.

Why do I say that? Because today we live in a throw-away culture. We not only have disposable forks and spoons but also disposable spouses. When we decide that they no longer meet our needs or they are no longer appealing to us, we get rid of them. Loyalty is in short supply today.

Years ago, a young person would begin work in a company and remain there until the end of his or her working days. Today, numerous companies, in an effort to bolster the bottom line, will callously and heartlessly terminate an employee of thirty or more years. To soften the blow, they will call it downsizing.

Not only have you exemplified the importance of loyalty by continuing your membership for over a half of a century. You also have demonstrated a capacity to cope with radical change. Admittedly, Temple Beth-El is not the same congregation that you remember from 1956 or before.

When you enter this Sanctuary and look about you, you may feel displaced. You do not recognize many of the faces, as you did decades ago. Our congregation has grown numerically over these years. It is almost twice the size it was fifty years ago.

There are other differences between then and now, as well. The entire religious life of our congregation has undergone a major transformation. Decades ago, our congregation was Classical Reform. Rarely, if ever, did you see a yarmulke in our Sanctuary. Bar Mitzvah was rare and Bat Mitzvah was non-existent. Almost the entire service was read in English and the use of Hebrew was minimal. Chanting at that time was taboo.

Today, our congregation has embraced many traditional practices once considered alien to Reform. Some of our members cover their heads in the Sanctuary. Bar and Bat Mitzvah are now regular occurrences. The amount of Hebrew has significantly increased. Certain prayers are even chanted.

Our Temple has changed, just as society has changed over the last fifty years. Nothing has stayed the same, nor will it ever stay the same again. Our relationships change, our bodies change, our clothing changes and our religious practices change. Years ago, a generation was defined as 20 years. Now a generation consists of a mere two years.

Yet, even with these rapid changes, we have still found a way to validate Classical Reform at several of our Sabbath and holiday services. In tonight's service, we highlight our Temple's Classical Reform roots. In spite of the criticism it often receives, we acknowledge that Classical Reform has many merits.

It gave thousands of Jews a way to connect to Judaism, when other approaches would have failed. It enabled them to approach Judaism in an intelligent and rational way. It cleansed Judaism of many superstitions which crept into Jewish life, especially from the Polish shtetl.

Furthermore, Classical Reform, more than any other expression of Judaism, emphasized the importance of working toward human betterment, when most Jews were preoccupied with the minutiae of ritual. It insisted that social justice is the centerpiece of Judaism. It inspired legions of Reform rabbis and lay people to fight for human rights; for racial equality; for a healthy environment; and for the separation of church and state.

Tonight, our service reflects our appreciation of Classical Reform. We are reading our service from the Union Prayerbook, the beloved symbol of Classical Reform. We are singing some of the favorite hymns and melodies from our Classical Reform legacy.

Tonight, we want you who are veteran Temple members to feel nostalgic with our worship service. We honor you and admire what you exemplify. When you joined our congregation before 1956, I assume that you did not bring with you a consumer mentality.

I would venture to say that you did not look upon Temple Beth-El as a spiritual service station. In most cases, your children and possibly your grandchildren are no longer are part of our Religious School student body. Yet you continue to remain with us. I have not heard you assert that you have no more need for our congregation.

Most likely, you do not measure your commitment to membership on the basis of the number of benefits you can derive from it. Some of you enter our Temple weekly, or even more often, for services, programs, or classes. Others of you come here much less frequently. Yet you understand the need to support this congregation, without focusing on what is in it for you.

Why? Because you intuitively understand that the synagogue, more than any other Jewish institution, is the soundest guarantor of Jewish continuity and survival. By your membership for a half-century or more, you demonstrate that just as previous generations have maintained this Temple for you and your family, so must you do for future generations.

Furthermore, you know that, over the decades, Temple Beth-El has always been here for you. This is the place that you can come when you want to celebrate a joyous occasion in your life or in the life of your loved ones. This is the place where you can seek strength during times of stress and sadness. This is the place where you can satisfy your spiritual yearnings. This is the place you can search for God.

Our prayer book contains a selection which expresses the way you have looked upon our Temple and have remained attached to it over these five or more decades. It begins, as follows:

"The Synagogue is the sanctuary of the Jewish people. It was born out of the Jewish longing for God. Throughout our wanderings it has endured as a stronghold for hope and inspiration, teaching us the holiness of life and inspiring in us a love of all humanity."

May Temple Beth-El continue to fulfill that sacred role for you and for your offspring for decades to come. Amen.

Home